CBS Says Fall Comedies Are Worth the Wait in New Campaign

Home , Anna Faris, Bob Hearts Abishola, B Positive, Young Sheldon

11.05.2020

â€‹In the ongoing pandemic, which is seeing more and more communities having to retreat into semi-lockdown, threading the needle of a successful yet sympathetic marketing message is tricky.

CBS had to think that problem through as it prepped to premiere a trio of Chuck Lorre-produced series-the returning Young Sheldon and Mom (without original series star Anna Faris), and new entry B Positive.

In addition, CBS CMO and President Mike Benson and his team just completed an entire brand refresh, and now they are incorporating that new look and feel into its fall marketing campaigns. The comedy campaign includes the shows mentioned above as well as Bob Hearts Abishola, The Neighborhood and The Unicorn. The spots will air across ViacomCBS' linear networks as well as on its own and third-party digital and social platforms.

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Adding to the challenge of marketing the fall season were the constant production problems caused by the coronavirus, Benson told Deadline. That meant less creative to work with and less time to assemble spots while everyone continues to work remotely.

"We are not in the same place that we would have been in given a normal fall season. We're working off of dailies that have come in, we're not working off of cuts," he said. "We are working with far fewer materials and when we do get those materials we find that we have to turn it more quickly. And with everyone working remotely, it just makes it that much more difficult because our output is lower. So, we've had to find other ways to work, too, not only internally within our own group to make assets but with showrunners and producers to make assets as they're dealing with their own problems with production as well."

What Benson is articulating are changes that have hit all entertainment marketers in one way or another and that are likely to continue well into 2021.

Still, viewers are looking forward to returning to familiar and comforting content in a time that is neither familiar nor comfortable, and CBS's overall campaign looks to capitalize on that.

"People want comfort food and a sense of safety," Benson told Deadline. "The idea of football coming back, going back to school, the new fall shows coming - people really love that. So, that coming back is an important emotional message for us, but also knowing that people's routines have changed. COVID has really disrupted viewing patterns."